My 15 year old male cat has started howling loudly. We had blood tests performed but no problems were found. He howls loudly while urinating in the litter box. He also howls when he is not in the litter box. He has also been pulling out his hair. The vet suggested these problems might be related to old age. He is eating and drinking and his weight is stable. Has anyone run into this same problem?

pattymac

December 20th, 2012, 10:28 PM

maybe needs a urinalysis too especially at his age. It could be age related too though a bit of dementia,is it worse at night? Seems to affect people and animals more at night. My Coco, age really unknown, gets restless at night. My other boy, he gets into yowling sometimes but he's been doing it since he was a kitten and he's worse if he hasn't had a snuggle during the day, think he feels unloved and is letting the whole world know! If he's yelling in the litter box though, I would take him back and get that checked out asap

growler~GateKeeper

December 20th, 2012, 11:26 PM

Urinalysis definately needed to check for crystals, stones & bacterial infections. Also at his age the urine specific gravity should be looked at as a guage for kidney function.

Was there a Thyroid hormone T4 level checked in the blood work? Sometimes that is a separate test.

The howling & fur pulling could be indicating Thyroid issues, which are treatable.

woofendog

December 23rd, 2012, 09:59 AM

He sleeps during the day in the upstairs closet or on the bed. Same for during the night. Jumped on the bed at 0630 this morning and howled. Our rooster cat. Petted him and he calmed down. Usually howls at night and in the morning when I carry him downstairs for feeding or to use his litter box. Once he's finished, he shoots back upstairs with a slight limp on the right rear leg. Will have to get him back to the vet for the other tests that you suggested. Thanks.

Longblades

December 24th, 2012, 08:43 AM

It could also be hearing loss. Google deaf cat howl and be dismayed at the number of hits.